title: Phenomenology as a philosophical orientation for understanding the transformative experience of disabling illness.
abstract: Kaufman's ground-breaking work in the 1980s introduced the phenomenology of disability. In my commentary, I describe phenomenology as a philosophy of understanding the world around us and as a methodology for understanding the lived experiences of patients with life-changing disabilities. Like Kaufman, my focus for the use of phenomenology in health care is to capture the existential and transformative experience of illness. As such, I agree with Kaufman that phenomenology can help health care professionals expand their understanding of patient experiences to provide a fuller and richer, holistic response to care.
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greenfield
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009949:Orientation; D010684:Philosophy; D014163:Transfer, Psychology